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The nominees for the 55th GRAMMY Awards were announced tonight, and many of this year’s best-known country songs and albums made the list–along with a few surprises. In terms of sheer numbers, Hunter Hayes led the pack with three nominations; Taylor Swift, Eric Church, Ronnie Dunn, The Time Jumpers, Carrie Underwood, and the Eli Young Band each earned two.

Taylor Swift, who cohosted the GRAMMY Nominations Concert broadcast on Wednesday night, earned a nomination for Record of the Year for her single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” She was also nominated in tandem with the Civil Wars for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their song “Safe & Sound” from the Hunger Games soundtrack. (Taylor’s new album Red, however, did not make the nomination list, due to the fact it was released after the GRAMMYs’ Sept. 30 eligibility cutoff.)

Among country artists, 21-year-old heartthrob and instrumental whiz-kid Hunter Hayes actually nabbed three nominations–Best New Artist (a multi-genre category), Best County Solo Performance (for “Wanted”), and Best Country Album (his self-titled release Hunter Hayes).

And speaking of the Best Country Solo Performance, that list included some of the year’s most powerful and memorable songs, including “Home” by Dierks Bentley and “Springsteen” by Eric Church.

The list of Best Country Albums included such popular releases as Zac Brown Band’sUncaged and Miranda Lambert’sFour the Record, but threw in a couple of more off-the-beaten-track gemes — Jamey Johnson’s beautiful, moving Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran and rootsy supergroup The Time Jumpers‘ self-titled release, an album many country fans probably didn’t even know about (even though the membership includes Vince Gill and Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky).

It’s interesting, in fact, that The Time Jumpers made the Best Country Album vs. the Best Americana Album nomination list, where rootsier material often winds up these days. The latter list instead included The Carpenter, the excellent new release by The Avett Brothers (who recently performed on a CMT Crossroads special with Randy Travis), alongside albums by Mumford & Sons, Bonnie Raitt, John Fullbright, and The Lumineers (whom you might recognize as having been name-checked on the TV show Nashville).

A few additional names showed up in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category, including the Eli Young Band for their Number One hit “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” Little Big Town with their summertime anthem “Pontoon,” and country legend Don Williams, who was nominated alongside Alison Krauss for their duet “I Just Come Here For The Music.”

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:Even If It Breaks Your Heart – Eli Young BandPontoon – Little Big TownSafe & Sound – Taylor Swift & The Civil WarsOn The Outskirts Of Town – The Time JumpersI Just Come Here For The Music – Don Williams Featuring Alison Krauss

Best Bluegrass Album:The Gospel Side Of – Dailey & VincentLife Finds A Way – The GrascalsBeat The Devil And Carry A Rail – Noam PikelnyScratch Gravel Road – Special ConsensusNobody Knows You – Steep Canyon Rangers